WV Trout Stocking Changes

DNR Announces Changes for the 2013 Spring Trout Stocking Season

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources has several changes for the current trout stocking season, according to Curtis I. Taylor, Chief of the DNR Wildlife Resources Section.

Trout stocking of Laurel Fork of Holly River in Webster County will be delayed as a result of ongoing work at Holly River State Park. The park is currently closed as contractors work to restore power and repair infrastructure that was damaged by Superstorm Sandy. “We hope to stock trout there in March,” Taylor said.
Trout stocking of Boley Lake and Glade Creek (of Manns Creek) in Fayette County also will be delayed due to replacement of the bridge that spans Glade Creek and provides access to the stream and lake. Work on the new bridge is expected to be completed by late March and trout stockings should resume in April.
The Corps of Engineers plans to dewater and clean the stilling basin at R. D. Bailey Lake in Wyoming/Mingo counties. Trout typically are stocked in the stilling basin below the dam and downstream. This work is scheduled for late March and is expected to be completed by April 4, 2013. Due to the scheduled dewatering, trout will not be stocked in the stilling basin until after the work is completed. Trout will be stocked downstream according to the normal schedule.
New Creek Lake (Site 14), in Grant County, will not be stocked until the Natural Resources Conservation Service has filled the impoundment. The lake was drained a couple of years ago to facilitate repairs to the water-release structure. After partial filling, NRCS will test the gates used to regulate the amount of water discharged from the lake. If the tests are satisfactory, the lake will be filled to its normal pool level. Trout stocking is expected to begin later this spring.
“As these waters become available for trout stocking, we will put a notice on the daily trout stocking update page,” said Taylor.
Anglers can call the Fishing Hotline at 304-558-3399 or visit the website at www.wvdnr.gov to find out which streams and lakes have been stocked each day.

**DNR**

 

 

DAMNIT

Horned Grebe (c) 2013 HVI

I knew a dog named that; once upon a time, seems appropriate right now. I was going to Elkins this morning at around 10:30 am. I've been staring at the waterfowl along the Fossil Park straight for a month and there hasn't been much happening. The birds were standing at the water-line as I was passing by. Goose, goose, goose, mallard, mallard...Mini goose, mini goose, mallard, pull over.. Try not to get run over..Not good, too much traffic. Pull out the binoculars, yep..Two Cackling Geese; about an inch taller than the mallards they are surrounded by..Too much traffic and I need to be somewhere else. No problem, they'll still be there in a couple of hours when I come back through..Nope, nothing there around noon..Figures.

Back to Elkins at around 3pm. I have to go somewhere and then have a half of an hour to kill. I ride out to the spillway..Nice; seven Horned Grebes and I can actually get photos of the nearest ones..Happy, now. Head to my next stop and then head home... Decide to check out the slow part of the Tygart River at the road to the Tygart Valley Regional Jail...What is that? I reach down for my better set of bad binoculars and realize that they are still laying on the bridge at the Elkins Spillway. Grab the other binoculars; which are best used for traction in case you may get hung up. Two Bonaparte's Gulls are floating down the middle of the river. Nice. I turn around and fly back to the spillway for the binoculars...Amazingly, they are still there. Head back to Norton; chasing the sun, in hope of getting photos of the gulls. I can't find them but there is another Horned Grebe there, constantly diving. No chance for photos in the dwindling light. Oh, well just another winter day..I hate winter.

Mid-Winter Waterfowl Survey

Canvasback (c) 2012 HVI

Mid-Winter Waterfowl Survey Results

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Wildlife biologists counted 5,252 ducks and 6,262 Canada geese during the annual mid-winter waterfowl survey in early January according to Steve Wilson, Waterfowl Biologist for the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Section.

“The number of ducks and geese counted this year increased 73 percent and 44 percent respectively compared to last year, and both are well above the 10-year average,” Wilson said. The increase was not unexpected due to weather fronts moving through from the northwest in December.
Canada geese, mallards and black ducks, as usual, were the most commonly observed species in the 2013 survey. Other waterfowl observed include: canvasback, scaup, ring-necked duck, redhead, bufflehead, wood duck, gadwall, mergansers and tundra swans. Nine adult and five juvenile bald eagles were also observed.
The survey was conducted on January 7, 8, and 10, 2013, and included portions of the Kanawha, Ohio, Shenandoah and New Rivers as well as Tygart and Bluestone Lakes.

**DNR**

Area	2013		2012		2011		2010		2009
	Ducks	Geese	Ducks	Geese	Ducks	Geese	Ducks	Geese	Ducks	Geese
Kanawha River (Upper	290	282	243	421	121	673	160	465	253	326
Kanawha River (Lower)	430	216	245	59	102	182	66	483	123	304
Ohio River (Lower)	1,238	1,672	1,342	1,017	1,195	764	849	1,321	290	501
Ohio River (Middle)	2,614	3,641	1,134	2,067	2,712	3,536	1,424	4,915	975	1,365
Tygart Lake/Pleasant Creek	213	11	254	16	82	15	212	170	72	128
Shenandoah River	85	36	81	57	136	588	18	154	102	422
Bluestone Lake/New River	382	404	417	267	696	389	139	281	218	229
Total	5,252	6,262	3,716	3,904	5,044	6,147	2,868	7,789	2,033	3,275
10-Year Average	3,300	4,604	3,036	4,352	3,333	4,729	4,905	5,154	5,012	4,764

A GREAT Waterfowl Week !!

Snow Geese  (c) 2013 HVI

You do not often hear that statement applying to Randolph County, WV. But it has been a pretty good week for seeing waterfowl. As far as I know; there have been sightings of all three Merganser species, both Greater and Lesser Scaup, Redheads, Canvasbacks, Ring-necked Ducks, American Wigeon, American Black Duck, Ruddy Ducks, Buffleheads, Wood Ducks and the ever present Canada Geese and Mallards. Today, I found 3 Snow Geese at River Bend Park in Elkins. We never have much as far as high numbers go. But it doesn't get much better than this; around these parts. I did hear some Tundra Swans fly over one day this week, too. Get out there and find something good. You never will know what you may find; if you don't go look. That is guaranteed.

Snow Goose (c) 2013 HVI

January Trout

Shavers Fork (c) 2013 HVI

If you are looking for some cold entertainment; most of the weekly stocked trout streams received their January trout allotment this week. The nights have been frigid in the mountain counties and water with little current has started icing over. If you are tough enough or crazy enough; I suppose there are trout out there to be caught.
The weather is supposed to improve for the upcoming week and temperatures are expected to be in the forties. That is a little more appealing to me. It may be time to buy a trout stamp; then. The waters that were stocked this week are listed on the Stream Report page of High Virginia Outdoors.

Help Birds and Learn With eBird

Indigo Bunting (c) 2009 High Virginia Images

As 2012 gives way to 2013, this is the time for New Year's resolutions. This year, why not make your New Year's resolution to use eBird...or to use eBird more often. In 2012 eBird received 33,862,411 observations on 2,460,415 checklists from 38,899 observers--a 45% increase over 2011. eBird thrives on data, since the models used to create animated migration maps and guide conservation efforts, such as those highlighted in the State of the Birds report, perform best with large amounts of data. In eBird, every observation matters and no sighting is insignificant--daily counts of House Sparrows at an urban feeder are just as valuable as surveys of remote islands full of rare birds. Our goal is to understand what's happening with birds anywhere, anytime, and in order to do that best, we need all of your sightings. In 2013, please consider committing to submitting one eBird checklist a week. If you are ambitious, shoot for one a day. Each checklist can be as simple as 5 or 10 minutes spent watching birds in your backyard or a 30 minute walk in a nearby park.

Give eBird a try, you'll like it and you WILL learn something from the experience. You can compile your own data of observations and help with bird conservation world-wide. I started out with eBird in 2006 and began by just entering observations from my yard on a weekly basis. With that data, I can now tell you within a couple of days when a particular species may be seen around here. I know it is time to plant the potatoes on the day the first Catbird arrives, too. Best of all, it is FREE and will not hurt you one little bit !!

A Good Start

(c) 2013 High Virginia Images

Randolph County, WV is not known as a waterfowl hotspot; but you never know what will show up from time to time. This Canvasback sure surprised me. It was at the railroad trestle near Norton, this afternoon. (1/2/13) This location is just above the mouth of Grassy Run (the crown jewel of Randolph County). There were also 2 Lesser Scaup, 4 Buffleheads and 7 Ruddy Ducks present. This was a nice and pleasant way to start off the 2013 birding year. Until this afternoon; I was quite happy with the American Tree Sparrow and the Red-breasted Nuthatch, to begin the year. This may possibly be the first recorded sighting of a Canvasback in Randolph County !!